Dark Fortress

Latest Dark Fortress News

Below is our complete Dark Fortress news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.

Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.

Dark Fortress has a new music video out now for "Chrysaslis," which can be seen below. Frontman and lyricist Morean comments:

"Left for dead after the ritual, the protagonist clings to the thin remaining thread of his waning life - a life he knows is no longer his. Mutation has begun to erode his humanity from the inside, while the world around him decays in the onslaught of poison rain steadily washing away the traces of human civilization."

The video was brought into being by Daniël van Nes, who also created the stunning artwork for new album "Venereal Dawn" (reviewed here).

The band also had this to say about the video: "We are proud to present our newest clip to the song 'Chrysalis' off our new album 'Venereal Dawn,' created by our cover artist Daniël van Nes in collaboration with Sanja Maier-Hasagic, Morean and acclaimed American modern dancer and choreographer Jack Gallagher. Both Daniël and Jack got deeply into the song and its story and managed to hit exactly the right vibe for what we wanted.

"Our music and lyrics are visually very evocative, so we felt the song calls for an approach that almost feels more like a short movie than a regular metal music video. We are very pleased with the final result, and think the images superbly manage to capture the desolation of the protagonist, whose infection by living light (and subsequent initiation of a process that leads to him changing species) becomes apparent in this chapter of our album. Enjoy!" More...

Formed in the Bavarian foothills when the second wave of black metal had grotesquely clawed out of the grave and into the unforgiving light, Dark Fortress benefited from the rotten fruits of right place and right time.

For the past two decades, Dark Fortres gone from strength to strength. Across six full-lengths, the Landshut-based sextet stretched the boundaries of black metal, while remaining pure to the tenets of a genre that pivoted (and continues to do so) solely around the axis of the dark and all that resides hideously inside of it.

Dark Fortress is now set to release Veneral Dawn on September 2nd via Century Media Records. Check out the advance track "Chrysalis" below, thanks to New Noise Magazine, and you can also pre-order the album at this location. The track listing is as follows:

The new Dark Fortress album “Venereal Dawn” is scheduled for release via Century Media Records in Europe on September 1st and in North America on September 2nd.

The cover artwork and track listing have now been revealed and can be seen below. Dark Fortress front man and lyricist Morean comments on the upcoming album:

“What happens to life on earth if the fragile laws of nature are altered even by a little bit? How can the human psyche deal with the perspective of inevitable extinction? How far can the human soul be stripped before its essence vanishes completely? Can we contain the implications of forced and radical evolution and the insanity it brings?”

Dark Fortress has checked in with the following announcement about releasing an upcoming album:

"We will release our 7th studio album worldwide on September 1st, 2014 through Century Media Records. The record will bear the title 'Venereal Dawn' and will be a concept album in nine chapters.

"Three years in the making, 'Venereal Dawn' will take our traditionally rich musical spectrum further than ever. Always aiming for an innovative equilibrium between hellish black metal, sophisticated melancholy, atmospheres of metaphysical horror and a deep occult spirituality, the album will be a substantial offering to our already extensive back catalogue.

"We have never taken the challenge of making a new album lightly, and again took a radically uncompromising attitude in concept and composing. Many songs were written since 2010's YLEM, and many were discarded again to make sure the new material would be able to exceed previous releases in quality, relevance and authenticity. More...

V. Santura of German outfit Dark Fortress has checked in with the following update about working on a new album:

"The recording sessions for the upcoming (still untitled) new album are finished successfully! I would dare to say that these were the most intense recording sessions in the history of Dark Fortress.

"We put weeks of extremely hard work into this to get as close as possible to what we consider perfection. Towards the end of the recordings we spent some crazy 14 hours shifts to get every detail and emotion recorded the way we envisioned it. Still, we needed just a few days longer than initially planned, and those few days were missing when I started doing the final mix for the album.

"After three days into mixing I realized that I only had the choice of either giving away a mix which is not satisfactory or to miss our deadline and push the album release backwards. I never considered this first option a real option, though. We put so much effort into the whole creative process and the recordings that it would be a cardinal sin to spoil this with a half-assed mix.

"By now I already have other highly important obligations (recording the new Triptykon album!), so we all decided it would be best to give ourselves a short break and to finish the mix later this winter.

"This, unfortunately, means the new album won't be out in early 2014 as initially planned, so everything is postponed for a few months. But that way I can promise that you will get to hear the best album possible!"

German progressive death metal titans Obscura have announced a special 10th anniversary show this December in Landshut, Germany. This one night only event will take place on December 15th at Alte Kaserne with special guests Dark Fortress, Hokum, and Illegimitation, an incarnation of the band’s original lineup, which will play the band's first demo in its entirety. More info on the show, including ticket information is available via the band’s official website here.

Guitarist/Vocalist Steffen Kummerer commented on the upcoming anniversary show: “After years of recording, touring & building up a loyal fanbase around the world we invite all of our friends & fans to our 10 year anniversary show in Landshut, Germany. We celebrate the end of the ‘OMNIVIUM Worldtour‘ in the same city where it started early 2011. To make this event something special we reformed the original lineup of Obscura for a short set, playing the full ‘ILLEGIMITATION‘ demo as a whole. While DARK FORTRESS and HOKUM share a long history of links with OBSCURA, it seems almost self-evident to have both booked for ‘10 YEARS OBSCURA – A Decade Of Progressive Death Metal‘. Let’s make this a great evening for everyone.”

Obscura is also currently streaming the 2011 album "Omnivium" (reviewed here) at this location. Obscura's upcoming tour dates are:

Dark Fortress has posted footage online of the band performing at this year's Wave Gotik Treffen festival, which can be viewed below. Dark Fortress also commented:

"For all those who missed our show at Wave Gotik Treffen in may, here's a clip of 'Ghastly Indoctrination,' our 2nd song that night. We had the camera directly on stage, so the angle of the video might be a bit unusual... More videos of that show will follow soon!"

Germany's Dark Fortress has issued the following announcement about heading out on a European tour with Nachtmystium:

"We will tour the EU as direct support for Nachtmystium (US) in April. Also on the billing are Verdelet (UK), as well as Phlefonyaar (UK) as support band for the first half of the tour and Crimson Darkness (UK) for the second half. We are busy planning more shows for 2012, so stay tuned for more!"

German black metal outfit dark Fortress has posted their new music video online for the song, "Ylem," which is the title track of their latest studio album. You can check it out below.

Vocalist Morean states: "The title track of our last album is a spell summoning the death of the universe in an accelerated "big crunch". The end of all living matter in the universe is inevitable, and in this invocation the sorcerer is a witness to this inevitable cosmic disaster. The clip is set in an atmosphere of desertion, with no more signs of civilisation, after the exponentially growing sun has scorched away all traces of life. As a last refuge, going underground offers the only shelter that is left, where the protagonist willingly surrenders to destruction and embraces his own end in a vision evoking both the distant past and distant future of our planet." More...

Kylesa has issued the following statement about their upcoming European tour dates with Dark Fortress:

"Greetings from the swampy south that is Savannah. It's been a while since we've posted a blog but we've been busy cooking up new Kylesa tunes over the past few months. We are quite happy with the progress thus far. We recently went to the Jam Room to record some demos and everything went rather well and we look forward to playing some of these new songs live when we fly over to Holland on Monday. We'll spend April overseas with our friends Dark Castle. We return in May to finalize what will be a new album....we'll start recording at the end of May and then we'll join Converge in Europe in July! We'll keep you posted as to how everything progresses. Thanks for your support and we hope to see you at the shows!"

German black metal outfit Dark Fortress has posted their new music video online for the song, "Hirudineans." You can check it out below. The song comes from the band's latest studio album, "Ylem" which is now available in Europe, but won't hit the shelves in North America until February 9th. More...

Dark Fortress has issued the following update about new European tour dates and posting video clips online detailing the creation of their new album:

"After a successful European tour with Satyricon, Shining and Posthum in December, Dark Fortress will be spreading utter darkness all across Europe on their own headlining tour in February 2010. The band will be supported by doomsters Serpentcult as well as fellow German black metal hopefuls Farsot, so see below for the full list of dates and be there! In addition to that, the band has launched a detailed video interview online in which the band comments on the creation of 'Ylem', their musical influences and the upcoming tour."

The first video clip can be viewed below and the second part can be found after the jump.

"So, the big day has come! The mess that is called Dark Fortress arrived together with everyone else in Antwerp yesterday, in various states of sickness and mental preparedness. Hof ter Lo is an awesome club, and the show went very well. It's a great honor to be a part of this apocalypse on wheels, and we're psyched to hear from the mighty Frost himself that they wanted a good package and chose us for it. Both Shining and Satyricon have been influential in the history of Dark Fortress, so to be summoning the blackness together in a union of powerful music and personalities feels fantastic. Yesterday we also played the live premiere of The Valley, which was particularly exciting since we had never (!) played it together until we went on stage. But it went well, and we know we can trust each other blindly on stage.

"Today we will support headliners Shining in Alkmaar, and we're happy to finally play in The Netherlands again, even if it's just for this one show. But we will be back in Seraph's and my home territory in February on a headlining tour. By the way, the new Merch is in and we are selling it at the shows. More info how to order it will follow soon. So see you around! Don't miss this tour, it has all the makings of becoming something to remember."

German black metal outfit Dark Fortress has revealed that they will be releasing their new studio album, "Ylem" on January 25th in Europe, except for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where the album will be released on January 22nd. The album will also be released in North America on February 9th. The band recently revealed the tracklisting for the album, which is as follows: